2016 Charles Joguet Chinon Rosé

• By Josh Raynolds
  2017 Rosé Roundup: More Wines than Ever (Jun 2017), 6/17/2017, (See more on Vinous...)

  (Charles Joguet Rosé Chinon (loire) Rosé) Login and sign up and see review text.

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Joguet, 7/21/2017

  (Charles Joguet Chinon Rose) Hello friends. As we expand our international offers at Full Pull, we’re always in search of the best bang for your buck. Yes, we all know tales of hundred thousand dollar bottles of 50 year old Cheval-Blanc and Thomas Jefferson’s 1787 Chateau Margaux, but unless you are all living drastically different lives than team Full Pull, those wines are not an option for a random Tuesday night. So, we explore the world for wines that work. We’ve recently dabbled in the alpine freshness of Savoie, the rhone-esque reds from Languedoc, and the exceptionally funky wines from Jura—and today’s offer is from the Loire Valley. Bottles from the Loire are truly some of the great values in wine, from white to red and everything in between. Rarely will you be steered wrong, when perusing a restaurant wine list, by choosing a Vouvray, Quincy, Bourgueil, or a Chinon. The wines of Charles Joguet are a fine introduction to Chinon (see map; we’re in region #22). Joguet took control of the family vineyards in 1957, and soon stopped the practice of selling to negociants, instead choosing to vinify different pieces of the family terroir separately and bottling a series of single-vineyard Chinons. Fifty-five years later, Charles is mostly retired (he stopped in 1997 after working forty vintages), but his vision continues. Today we have a white, rosé, and red to offer, showing a full spectrum of the low-price, high-caliber wines Joguet provides. Joguet’s wines are divided into two lines: those meant for aging and the “precocious cuvées.” The three we are offering are all from the precocious line, coming from the younger vines of the vineyard and meant to be consumed young. Of course “younger” is relative: average vine age is between 20-30 years for all three of these wines. And a quick note: While the reds from Joguet usually arrive to Seattle in some quantity, their white and rosé counterparts are scarce. That’s why we haven’t have a Joguet offer in over five years, and have never offered a white or rosé. These wines, the reds included, get gobbled up before we have the chance. Knowing this, we pre-purchased the blanc and the rosé for our list because they are that good . And good thing, because they are now sold out throughout the rest of Seattle. Given this, there will probably be no reorder potential. Seattle’s summer gives the perfect opportunity for a second wave of rosé buying. In the rest of the United States, summer can hit as early as May. Those of us in the Pacific Northwest know better than to expect true summer until after July 4th. While deep down we know this, those of us who love the pink stuff gobble up pre-orders and releases of the rosé we love the minute they come out—which can now be as early as January or February. Then we try to wait. We try to wait for sunshine and 9:30 PM sunsets and all the magical things that make Seattle summer unbeatable. By the time a few months have gone by, and it’s still cold and rainy, we can’t help ourselves. We drink the rosé. When July hits and it’s actually summer in Seattle, we’re almost done with the rosé we diligently bought six months ago. And we need more. The Joguet rosé is the perfect solution—this mineral driven rose with signature Loire greenies is the perfect late summer rosé. It has the acidity for a summer afternoon or a feast, with unusual complexity that makes it delightful for the last warm days of September and October. 100% Cabernet Franc, this rosé opens with bright minerality and just a touch of that lovely funk that comes with Chinon. The palate is racy, full of fresh wild strawberries, orangey citrus, and fresh, green herbaceous notes of parsley and sage. This is truly an ideal end of summer BBQ wine or, if it lasts, one for the Thanksgiving table. Vinous: Copyrighted material withheld.